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However, the gravekeeper was always doubtful in his heart.
Is it really right for him to do this...?
Chapter 638 Then do as you wish
"Let's lock this girl up here for now."
In the cult's base on the back mountain, a group of believers including the Muraki couple ordered the gravekeeper to come to the center of the room and place the still unconscious Kokaruma on a black bed.
The space of this room is quite spacious, as if it was formed by breaking down the walls between several bedrooms and living rooms in the house.
The two windows facing outwards were covered with black curtains, and the surrounding walls were decorated with candle-lit wall lamps similar to those in the European medieval style. After all, this house had been abandoned for a long time and had no electricity.
On the pedestal at the innermost part of the room is a wooden statue that is as tall as a person.
The statue is in the shape of a European woman, naked, sitting in a kneeling position with her hands clasped together, praying like the Virgin Mary.
Its appearance is different from any saint or god in any European religion. It was obviously created by the sculptor according to his own preferences. This is probably the "Lord" of these believers.
In order to move the body of the "Lord" to the back mountain, it took a lot of effort from these believers.
There are circles of candles placed around the statue. After entering the room, believers immediately come forward to light them one by one.
As the outside light was blocked, the whole room seemed a little dim at this time, with only the light from the candles around faintly illuminating it.
I don’t know if it’s because the room has not been ventilated for a long time, but there is a faint pungent smell in the room.
"After using her to trick the policeman here, we will sacrifice both of them to the Lord..."
Wearing a long robe, Mr. Muraki looked down at the unconscious Karasuma and spoke.
"Ah."
The believers around nodded in agreement. This was the result they had already discussed. One of the believers even took out a bundle of black ropes from under his robe and tied up Xiao Wuhuan's hands and feet.
However, even though this plan had already been finalized, someone actually raised objections at this moment.
"Mr. Muraki, I think... we can't kill her." The gravekeeper also looked at the unconscious Karasuma. After struggling and hesitating, he finally spoke these words.
"What did you say?" Mr. Muraki looked at him with some surprise.
Before he could ask any more questions, a believer immediately asked, "What nonsense are you talking about? Didn't we discuss this last night?"
"Yes, the policeman is about to discover the existence of the 'master'. If we don't take action, I'm afraid the 'master' will be..."
"Mr. Muraki." However, the gravekeeper ignored what these people said, and turned to look at Mr. Muraki and asked: "Why can't the 'master' be exposed to the eyes of the world?"
"Because the Lord is the most holy being in this world."
Mr. Muraki replied immediately without any hesitation.
"The gaze of such vulgar and filthy people will only defile the holiness of the Lord. Only faithful believers like us who are willing to follow the Lord can face the true face of the Lord."
As he said this, Mr. Muraki clasped his hands together, bowed his head and prayed to the statue in the room, and the other believers in the room followed suit.
The only exception is the gravekeeper.
"But I don't think that police officer is a vulgar and filthy person."
The gravekeeper also turned to face the statue, his hands clenched, his expression painful but his eyes determined.
"He is a very good person and an excellent police officer. He has saved many innocent victims and never let go of those who committed crimes...Mr. Muraki, I didn't tell you last night that the police officer actually knew about Kyoko and Mr. Hanada..."
"What?!" Mrs. Muraki, who had been silent all this time, suddenly screamed when she heard this, and the other believers also looked terrified.
"You bastard! Have you betrayed the Lord?!"
"Asshole! How can you be worthy of the Lord? How can you be worthy of the Master?!"
"No, I didn't say anything..."
Facing the believers' curses and scoldings, the gravekeeper simply shook his head calmly. The struggle and pain on his face gradually faded away, and was replaced by a smile that came from a state of extreme inner peace.
"That officer came up with it himself. He's really amazing. I didn't say anything, but he seemed to see through me completely...
He gave me one night, hoping that I would turn myself in... Ah, even for someone like me who had committed so many sins, the police officer was still willing to give me a chance to reform..."
As he was speaking, the gravekeeper suddenly burst into tears. He walked forward to the statue of "the Lord" and slowly raised his hand.
"That police officer is not a vulgar and filthy person. He is like the 'Lord'. They are both 'holy', far more holy and flawless than those of us who have committed sins..."
But in the end, he did not really touch the statue. He stopped one meter in front of the statue, turned to look at the silent Mr. Muraki, and persuaded him:
"Mr. Muraki, let's go turn ourselves in."
"Kyoko, and Mr. Hanada's incident were all sins we committed. From the moment we killed them, we became filthy. We killed innocent people. The Lord will never forgive us. Only by bearing the corresponding punishment can we cleanse ourselves of our sins..."
"Nonsense!"
A believer shouted, "Xingzi and Hanada are both filthy people who don't understand the glory of the Lord! No matter how many of these things we kill, the Lord will not punish us!"
"Woo! Anzi..." Hearing his words, Mrs. Muraki beside her suddenly sobbed.
"Sin is sin, and even distorting the true meaning of the Lord can never cover it up."
The gravekeeper shook his head and said, "If the Lord is truly the most holy being in this world, then even if they are mediocre people, the Lord will definitely not allow us to take their lives at will..."
"Those who do not believe in my teaching are all sinners!"
"What nonsense! You...are you going to betray the Lord?!"
"All quiet."
Finally, amid a chorus of curses, Mr. Muraki, who had been silent for a long time, spoke.
He looked at the gravekeeper expressionlessly and asked, "It seems that you have made up your mind. What are you going to do next?"
"I will take the little girl back to see the young police officer and tell her everything about the 'Lord' and the cult." The gravekeeper said seriously.
"Really……"
Mr. Muraki heard this and nodded expressionlessly.
"In that case, just do as you wish..."
Chapter 639 Why is it here?
At this time, at the foot of the mountain, after visiting Keiko Hatoyama in the hospital, the boy took a police car and quickly rushed to the back mountain where the cemetery was located.
Although the gravekeeper told him last night that the mountain behind was just a bare mountain with no one living on it, his words were obviously not credible.
When the boy tentatively asked about the situation in the back mountain last night, the gravekeeper immediately showed an obviously uncontrollable nervous expression, and even asked him in return whether he had found any clues...
The boy had seen this kind of reaction from him many times before.
Obviously he is guilty.
There must be something wrong on that mountain behind. According to the boy's guess, the base of their cult group might be there.
The exact details will become clear once he goes up and takes a look.
By the way, although the boy seemed to have said something like "I'll inform you when there's any progress in the investigation" when he separated from Kokarasuma last night, he has no intention of actually informing the girl now.
If it was a normal investigation, it would be fine, but it is better to let him handle something like this that may be dangerous.
At that time, Japan had only been post-war for ten years, and a large number of illegal firearms were still circulating on the black market. The Tokyo government had not even promulgated relevant gun control laws, and there were countless cases of civilian possession of guns.
Especially for cult groups like this one that are active in the dark corners of society, for certain needs, they are very likely to secretly store a lot of guns and ammunition within the cult.
If it was just the boy alone, it would be fine, because he was very strong, very strong. He was more than capable of fighting off a group of ordinary people who had never touched a gun before.
But it’s different for other people, especially ordinary high school girl like Kogumaru who is “powerless”. If he calls her along, if they really encounter any extreme situation, she will only become a burden to him.
Therefore, the boy thought that not calling her was the most appropriate choice.
Even though she might blame him again, Xiao Wuwan's personality of "not bearing grudges overnight" made her calm down the next day after she blamed him today.
At worst, if I come across a suitable case in the future, I can ask her to investigate together as compensation...
As he was thinking this, a police car just passed by the cemetery. Subconsciously, the boy turned his head and glanced out the window.
Then, the whole person was stunned.
"parking!"
The boy seemed to have seen something unbelievable. He stared at the cemetery through the car window and suddenly shouted.
"Ah? Yes!"
The detective driving the car reacted quickly and stepped on the brakes immediately. The police car, which was originally driving at high speed, slid on the road with an unpleasant friction sound, leaving a long mark on the tires.
The boy didn't even wait for the car to stop. He quickly opened the door and got out, rushing towards the cemetery at the back. After him, the two detectives also got out and followed.
The boy rushed to the tombstone of Hanada where Anzi's body had been kneeling, and looked down at the schoolbag on the tombstone.
This is a black handbag. The style doesn’t look special, but the leather is high-quality, and there is a small crow pendant hanging on the button of the bag.
It is placed in such a conspicuous position that anyone passing by the cemetery can see it clearly.
"Mr. Shirakawa?" The two detectives behind him caught up with him, looked at the boy who was staring at the schoolbag in confusion, then looked at the schoolbag again, feeling that it seemed somewhat familiar.
But to the boy, it was more than just familiar. He had seen this schoolbag too many times before. The only person who would hang a crow pendant that was not "girly" at all on a schoolbag was the little girl who came to see him and Keiko every day.
This is Karasuma's school bag.
But why does it appear here?
Shouldn't Karasuma have arrived at school at this time?
Feeling a strong sense of uneasiness in his heart, the boy immediately reached out, unbuttoned his schoolbag, and took out a notebook from it.
On the cover of the notebook, Karasuma's name was written in English and Japanese. The English was written very fluently and beautifully, while the Japanese looked a bit ugly, as if it was written by a child who had just learned to write.
When he saw these two names, the last bit of hope in the boy's heart was shattered.
There's nothing wrong with that.
Although Kokarasuma can write English and Japanese, he lived in the United States until half a year ago, so his English writing is quite fluent. On the contrary, he does not have many opportunities to use Japanese, so his writing is very poor, and he has not yet fully mastered it.
This is Karasuma's school bag.
So why is it here? Who put it here and for what purpose?
"call……"